Former Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin should be removed from a list of people sanctioned by the European Union after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU General Court said on Wednesday.
The Luxembourg court said that "the family connection with his father, Russian businessperson Dmitry Mazepin, is not sufficient for him to be regarded as being linked to his father by common interests and, therefore, for him to be maintained on those lists."
Mazepin's father, Dmitriy, has a majority stake in mining company Uralkali and is the former majority stake holder in its subsidiary Uralchem. He is said to be very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin who ordered the ongoing invasion.
The Mazepins were put on the EU sanctions list along with around 2,000 other people and organizations after the start of the invasion, with assets frozen and entry into the EU prohibited.
The EU said at the time that Nikita was a "natural person" to be added to the list because of the family connection.
Nikita Mazepin lost his place at the Haas F1 team, where he had driven since 2021, which also dropped Uralkali as one of its sponsors.
He contested being on the list, and the court said that with him no longer driving for Haas and Uralkali also not a sponsor of the team he was only on the list for the family connection which was not sufficient.
The court had last year annulled EU sanctions against the mother of the late Wagner military group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, for the same reason.
Others like former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich have failed in their lawsuits against the EU sanctions.
